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of considerable size,embedded in the gangue UNITED STATES PATENT @EETCE GIDEON E. MOORE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PROCESS OF TREATING ORES OF ZINC, MANGANESE, OR IRON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 505,408, dated September 19, 1893.

Application filed March 6, 1893- To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, GIDEON E. MOORE, a cltlzen of the United States,residing in the city of New York, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Treating Ores of Zinc, Manganese, or Iron, of which the following 1s a specification.

The ores to which my invention especially applies consist of mixturesof minerals contalning zinc, manganese and iron or either of these substances, as, for example, Willemite, z ncite, franklinite, &c., with a gangue con- SlStlllg' essentially or largely of carbonate of llme with smaller proportions of carbonate of manganese or of magnesia, or both, which gangue in the following description will be termed limestone. In the case of such ores, and notably those occurring in the county of Sussex, New Jersey, these minerals occur in dlstinct crystals or crystalline particles, often and frequently either detached, or so loosely adherent that when the gangue is removed the crystals or granules of the different minerals may, to a considerable extent, be separated from each other by hand sorting, sifting, washing or other simple mechanical means.- In the methods of treatment heretofore applied to these ores, the ores have been crushed together with the gangue, and either subjected directly to metallurgical treatment for the recovery of the zinc that they contain, the slags or cinders from the last named treatment being subsequently utilized for the re+ covery of the iron and manganese, or the crushed ore has been subjected to jigging or other mechanical process of concentration to remove more or less of the gangue previous to the metallurgical treatment. lhis preliminary crushing, with or without concentration of the ore, is usually done at the reduction works at some distance from the mines and 1s not only expensive but involves the transportation of the gangue and other worthless portions of the ore, as well as the valuable constituents. Moreover by the process of crushing the valuable constituents of the ore are crushed as well as the gangue, the crushing can rarely be economically carried so far as to insure a perfect separation of the gangue Serial No. 464:.882. (No specimens.)

from the particles of valuable material and the latter are reduced in size by the crushing, which is a condition less favorable for certain of the simpler processes of concentra For all of ores of a certain degree of richness in zinc.

The object of my invention is to remove the limestone gangue from these ores, leaving the valuable constituents as nearly as possible in their original condition as to size and shape of particles, so as to facilitate the separation of the individual metalliferous minerals preliminary to'their separate metallurgical treatment, the separation of these metalliferous minerals, and their metallurgical treatmentfor the recovery of the metals that they contain.

In carrying out .my invention I proceed as follows, to Wit: I take the lump ore as it comes from the mine and, if necessary, break it into pieces of suitable size. pieces of about eight inches cube, more or less, may be used, although the size is only material in regard to the form, size and mode of operation of the furnace used. Ithen calcine the ore in a furnace or kiln of any suitable known construction or material, or in heaps, wherein it may be subjected to the action of heat, for the purpose of depriving the limestone of as much of its carbonic acid as may be necessary to give it the property of slaking, or disintegrating, or falling to powder, or to particles of greater or less degree of fineness, when subjected to the action of hot or cold water, or steam, or to prolonged exposure to the atmosphere. For this purpose any known mode of calcination either In most cases in furnaces, kilns or heaps, with orwithout ICO heat and a non-reducing or at most slightly .reducing atmosphere to be favorable condiworking, a suitable furnace to be used therewith. When properly calcined,I remove the ore and either slake the limestone, or product of calcining the same, by addition of a suitable quantity of hot or cold water or steam, which slaking is most active when performed before the ore has entirely cooled, or I allow the calcined ore to disintegrate by the vprocess known as air-slaking. When properly slaked the mass will be found to consist of slaked or disintegrated gangue with intermixed particles of the willemite, franklinite and zin'cite the said "minerals being almost or entirely un- 1' unchanged in size of particles and other 'es sential respects from the state in whichthey were contained in the original ore.

After the rem'ovalof the gangue the valuable minerals I may either be'sent directly to the "furnaces for reduction or'theymay, either with 'o'rwithout previous crushing, besubjec'ted toany known; process of mechanical separation. When the f proportiono'f gangue is Very considerable it is usually convenient to remove more or less of it from the calcined and slaked material by sifting, washing, or other mechanical means before proceeding to separate the individual F metalliferousminerals from each other,'whic'h may be done by sifting-screening, jigging or washing, or other known means of separation based on difference in sizeof particles or specific gravity 'of the materials to be separated or, if any portion thereof is .pos sesse'd'of magnetic properties, by "the use of any known process of magnetic separation employed in the separation of magnetic from non-magnetic materials. tion of gangue is relatively small, especially as compared with the proportion of magnetic When the proporsubstance contained in the calcined and disintegrated material, it is sometimes expedie'nt'to revsrse the order of procedure so as to'firstseparate the magnetic-portion by magnetic separation and then to separate the non-magnetic portion of the'valuable minerals from the calcinedand disintegratedgangue.

'The'foregoing process furnishesas a by-product dry or moist slaked lime which may be used forfwh'atever technical application it may be adapted for.

When the processof magnetic separation,

is used the magnetic portion will be found to consist chieflyof compounds of manganese and'lron, with more or less zinc. It may be jected to any of the known'and suitable processes of metallurgical treatment for the extraction of the zinc contained therein.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The herein described process of treating ores of zinc, manganese and iron containing willemite and franklinite and-contained in a limestone gangue which consists in calcining the ore and the gangue in a practically nonreducin'g atmosphere, causing the calcined gangue to slake ordisintegrate by hydration, separating'the willemite and franklinite from the disintegrated gangue and subjecting them to furnace t-reatment'for the recovery of the metals they contain substantially as described. V

'2. The herein described process'of treating *ores of zinc, manganese and iron containing willemite and franklinite andcontained'in a limestone gangue which consists in calcining them in a practically non reducing atmosphere to render the lime more'orless caustic, causing the "calcined gan'gue'to slake or disintegrate by hydration, removing the disintegrated gangue, separating therm-inerals'consisting chiefly of compo'undsot 'z'in'c fro'm t'hose consisting chiefly ofcompounds'ofmanganese and iron and "subjectingfthe several products to separate metallurgical treatment for the recovery of the metals they contain substantially as described.

3. The herein described processof treating ores "of zinc, manganese and iron containing willemite'and franklinite and contained in a limestonegangue, which-consists in calcining them in 'a' practically non-reducing --a'tm0sphere to render the ganguemore or less caustic,'cau'sing the gangue to sla'keordisin'tegrate by hydration and separating the magnetic'and non-magnetic "ores from each other and from the disintegrated gangue substantially as described.

4. The herein described process of treating ores of zinc, manganese and ironcontaining willemite and franklin'ite and contained ina limestone gangue,-which consists-incalcining them in a practically non-reducing atmosphere, causing the calcined gangue to slake or disintegrate by hydration, separating-the magnetic and non-magnetic ores from each other and fromthedisintegrated gangue, and subjecting the magnetic and nonmagnetic ores to separate metallurgical treatment for the recovery of the metals they contain substantially as described.

5. The herein *describedprocess of treating ores of zinc, manganesean'd iron containing willemite and franklinite and contained in a limestone gangue which consists in calcining them in a practically non-reducing -atmos phere to renderthe ganguemore'or lesscaustic,-causing the calcined gangue to slake 'or integrated gangue, separating the magnetic from the non-magnetic ores by the use of a magnetic separator and subjecting the magnetic and non-magnetic ores to separate metallurgical treatment for the recovery of the metals they contain substantially as described.

6. The herein described process of treating ores of zinc, manganese and ironcontaining willemite and franklinite and contained in a limestone gangue which consists in calcining them in a practically non-reducing atmosphere, causing the calcined gangue to slake or disintegrate by hydration, separating the ore consisting chiefly of compounds of zinc and the ore consisting chiefly of compounds of manganese and ironfrom each other and from GIDEON E. MOORE. [L.S.]

Witnesses:

T. BROWN, J r., R. W. MILNE. 

